28 August 2013

Liverpool
defender Daniel Agger has insisted he has never been tempted to leave Anfield
this summer despite being linked with a possible move to Barcelona. The Danish
international has established himself as a firm fan favourite since his arrival
from Brondby in 2006, racking up over 200 appearances for the Reds during that
time.

There
had been various reports in the
football betting news linking the centre back with a move to Barcelona this
summer, but both the club and player have been quick to play down any talk of a
transfer before the end of this current transfer window.

While
the club have never entertained the idea of selling Agger, the defender has
made it clear he is settled at the club and privileged to have been made
vice-captain this season following the retirement of Jamie Carragher.

"I've
said it so many times; I like it here and my family like it here. Not only the
football but also living here, we fit in here and that's important for
me," Agger admitted.

"Not
many people have the success to become a professional footballer and not many
people get the vice-captaincy so that's a big thing for me. It's so difficult
to describe.”

After
such a turbulent summer for the club with the whole Luis Suarez saga, Brendan
Rodgers will now be hoping he can now just put his full focus into matters on
the pitch. Agger committing himself to the club will be a huge boost to the
team, and the Liverpool manager will now be hoping he can begin to start
looking at players he can bring in rather than players who he might lose.

The Tampa Bay Rays have been handed a boost
following the news that left-hander, Matt Moore, is
closing in on a return to the team in time to help mount a challenge for the AL
East title.

The All-Star starter has been sidelined
since last month with an elbow problem but could now be in line to rejoin the
rotation on September 3 for the trip to the Los Angeles Angels.

Moore was 14-3 with a 3.41 ERA before Tampa
Bay were forced to place
him on the disabled list at the end of July for what was hoped would be a
two- or three-week stay, only to be kept out for an extra couple of weeks due
to the elbow injury taking longer to heal.

Now back in full training, Moore is looking
at getting his arm back 100% in order to get himself back on the mound as soon
as possible. The Betfair baseball pages notes that Moore has had an excellent
season so far, going 14-3 with a 3.41 ERA.

Tampa Bay currently find themselves with a
74-54 record, one game behind the Boston Red Sox in the AL East. The Rays are
tied with the Athletics for first place in the AL Wild Card, but the Indians,
Orioles, and Yankees are all within touching distance of the Rays, with
shortening odds in the MLB
betting.

After getting back to pitching in training,
Moore admitted that he had felt the normal soreness he would after pitching in
a regular game and would try to talk the management into letting him rejoin the
rotation for the trip to Los Angeles.

"Whatever gets me back in the
rotation," he said, according to the Tampa newspaper. "That's the
ultimate goal."